The Real You
by Marine Brother Shran
Summary: DISCONTINUED! Read Escape From my Darkness
1. A Different Side of You

**The Real You**

**Chapter I A Different Side of You**

**In Depth Summary: Rei Ayanami and Reika Ayanami are twin sisters, both at the age of 16. The two of them have the same blue hair colour, one has crimson red and the other has cobalt blue. One is considered a nerd and a lowlife, the other popular and well known. Yet at one point, the roles were reversed, and now one retreats from the limelight, the other steps up. Can you figure who is the current popular and who is the current geek?**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN EVANGELION! GAINAX AND HOWEVER DOES! SO LEAVE ME ALONE!**

"Hey Rei!" Reika shouts from outside of her two floor house. Inside, a blue haired girl, with boyish hair cut, red eyes and fair skin, lets out a heavy sigh.

Rei appears on the front left balcony of her house, clad in her school uniform which consisted of a white dress shirt with the school crest on the left breast pocket and black ruffled skirt and a black tie, she replies, "What?"

"Do you have to be so, neutral?" Reiki pouts as she ties her shoulder length hair, "Pass me my karate belt! I'm late as it is." Rei disappears into her room, and instantly takes a left and goes into her walk in closet, and look to the left side as she searched through her sisters clothing. Finding what she needs, she pulls it out and walks back to the balcony and drops it.

Reika let's out a sigh of exasperation and picks up her brown belt, "You could've been nicer and at least thrown it to me."

"Do you not have a practice to go to?" Rei coolly asks as Reika stuffs her belt into her backpack.

Reika looks at her watch, shrieks, and then quickly mounts her bike as she yells, "Oh god, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late! See you later tonight Rei!" Rei however shook her head as she walks back inside and quietly observes her room.

Directly to her left was their walk in closet, and next to it was the door to their bathroom. To her right were two desks, each with computers, however one was festooned with various ornaments, and trinkets, such as key chains, pictures of friends and what not. The other was highly organised, a few books, and a cup filled with various pens, pencils and rulers of the sort. In the left corner, a mirror and a counter top of various make-up and accessories was setup. Rei never touched it, or has not in a long while. Lastly, to the right against the walls were two beds. One a simple blue, with blue and white striped pillow, the other was a vibrant red.

Rei frowned when she saw her sister's bed, as she hated the colour red, as much as she hated the colour of her natural eyes. However she usually ignored that fact and always moved on. She walks to the desk on the wall opposite the walk in closet when she hears Reika's messenger system go off. She looks to her right to see that someone had indeed sent her a message. Being the nice one, she types in that Reika has gone off, and then sets her messenger system to away, before turning back to her desk and starts her homework.

Later that night her mother, Naoko Ayanami and her 21 year old sister Ritsuko came back late from work, to find Rei and Reika already in bed.

Naoko looks sadly at Rei and quietly says, "It's been what, 2 years since the incident?"

Ritsuko hums in agreement, "Yeah it has. She won't change; at least not for a while I don't believe."

"It's so sad, to think they were both happy at the time, but now…" a tear slides down her face, "Now Rei is just suffering."

"It can't be helped," she says, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder, "If she wants to fix things, she has to choose it. Dad said that to me once."

Naoko nods as she silently closes the door, "Your father was always a wise man."

"That he was mom that he was." The two then retire into their rooms for the night.

That morning, both girls groan at the sound of their alarm clocks going off. However Reika stayed in bed, hiding her head underneath her pillow while Rei sits up and hits the snooze button. She stretches before getting out of bed, eyeing her sister's laziness for a moment before walking around her sister's bed, to her desk where her school uniform rested on the back of her chair. She takes the white dress shirt and black skirt, and grabs a tie from her side of the closet before going into the bathroom for her morning shower.

Meanwhile downstairs, Naoko is cooking breakfast while Ritsuko sets up the table. Reika on the other hand remains in bed as she thinks about what she will do next for the day. Rei simply stands in the shower as she lets the cold water run down her body, waking her up. She usually does something, such as try new fragrances and the like but lately she's stopped caring and only did the bare minimum. She quickly shampoos her hair and steps out, and dries herself off. She then brushes her teeth, puts on fresh undergarments and then her school uniform. She walks out to see her sister, still groggy waiting in front of the bathroom, for Rei to come out. Rei moves out of the way to give her sister access into the washroom before walking out.

Rei goes to her desk, and quickly grabs her schoolbag, packs in the needed books and then heads downstairs with her bag in her hand. When she reaches the kitchen she sees that her mother and older sister had already sat down eating.

Naoko sees her daughter and says to her, "Breakfast is on the oven. Help yourself."

"Thank you, mother," she quietly responds, placing her bag next to her chairs and grabs some omelettes, a glass of juice and some fried vegetables, "I will be walking this morning."

Both women look at her worriedly, "You sure sis?"

"I prefer to walk alone, please. Reika can do as she pleases." She calmly eats her food, while the two women look at Rei worriedly. They knew she's had problem in school lately and to go to school alone, let alone walking made them feel very comfortable.

Reika soon walks down with a spring in her step, her hair done up in a neat bun, "Good morning everyone," she says in a cheerily manner.

"Reika," Naoko begins, "You need a ride? Or are you biking?"

"I'm biking, why?" she asks, as she helps herself to eggs and bacon.

"Do not follow me Reika," Rei replies in her quiet voice.

Reika simply shrugs, "Sure thing sis." Naoko and Ritsuko could only stare in disbelief at the nonchalant manner Reika had.

"May I be excused?" Naoko only nods as Rei takes her fork and plate, and places them in the washroom before grabbing her bag, puts on her shoes and walks out.

She walks down the stairs and starts to walk uphill, deep in thought. 'Why did my sister choose to agree to let me walk alone? Although I prefer this way, I would never allow her to do such a thing, even though I am the younger of the two of us. Why must she so be so…stubborn? I suppose that it was our father's trait that has been passed down upon Reika and I. Still, I wonder why.' Rei looks up to see the familiar clock tower of her school. She frowns at the sight, seeing as she hated the school. She didn't want to go to the school, but she required it to advance in life. She was offered home schooling but she had turned it down and decided to continue with school. However there were some aspects of school that she greatly disliked…more like hated to be exact.

Rei walks in, and goes straight for her locker on the first floor, and opens it and starts putting in and pulling out books. She had Math as her first class, and she greatly despised it. She packs her Math book in, and places all other books inside her locker. She closes the door to reveal a redhead standing behind the door.

She sneers as she speaks, "Well, well, guten morgen Wonder Girl."

"What do you want Soryu?" Rei quietly asks, as she keeps her vision forward.

"Oh nothing," she replies as she twirls a lock of hair, "Just to say hello, for now."

"Then I shall be going." She starts to walk past the redhead, when she suddenly trips. She looks behind her to see the redhead laughing her head off as she walks away.

She meets up with a few girls, hearing one of them say, "Nice going Asuka." Rei looks around to see a few of the other boys and girls snicker at her, but she brushes it off as she gets up, and walks to her Math class.

She hated Asuka Soryu, especially now since she's been her primary target. Asuka has done many things, ranging from spit balling, to tripping, to getting her in detention with her so that she could continue pulling pranks on her. Asuka seemed to be enjoying it as well. Rei wants to put a stop to her, but she knew of her popularity status, and knew that it would be useless. She couldn't even count on her sister to help her. She also knew that if she took Asuka down it would be her downfall as the majority of school adores her and they would turn their anger upon Rei if she did something that drastic.

She enters her math class and sits herself in the far back corner, and faces outside as she usually does in all of her classes, yet is able to maintain an A+ average. As students begin to fill up the seats, Rei maintains her view outside, observing the flowers, the garden, the birds and whatever else was out there, until she hears snickering around her, informing her that Asuka and her posse were present. She despised math greatly because this was where most of her enemies were during the first class. She lets out a sigh as she maintains her focus outside. However that proved to be unnecessary as several girls squealing at the door draws her attention towards it.

There in the doorway stood most popular boy in school, Shinji Ikari. How he was popular greatly eluded Rei though. He was a secluded boy. He hated to be surrounded by people and only hung with the class jock Toji Suzuhara and military otaku Kensuke Aida. From what Rei knew, he was abandoned by his father after his mother died, and lived with his godmother. But she never really bothered to get to know the boy as he never talked to anyone at first, as he kept to himself. However, she had a crush on the boy. But she knew she could never talk to him because of their different social status, plus he never talks with anyone. He had attempted once, but Rei had simply disregarded him and he never talked to her again. She didn't mind, as she knew that popular people would never dare to talk to people like her, or in Shinji's case, he couldn't dare talk to anyone if he could.

She remembered once seeing him in a tree at the edge of the school, sitting on one of the branches as he listened to his music. She also remembered how she wanted to be in his arms, and listen to whatever music, or just observe the sky. But she knew that would never happen. How could a reclusive boy and a nerd ever be together? Boy was she wrong that day.

Later that afternoon, during lunch, Reika was mindlessly chatting with her friends, when she was approached my Shinji, "Um excuse me Ayanami-san but uh……." Reika raised her eyebrows as she wanted for the boy to finish his sentence.

"I uh…can I….well…can I talk to you for a moment?" Both of them started to blush, but Reika nodded. Shinji took her aside and started to speak again.

"I want to ask a favour of you," he quietly speaks.

"Huh? Come again?" she asks as she strains her ears.

"I said, I need a favour from you," he says, a bit louder.

"What exactly do you need from me?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I well…I want a chance to know your sister."

"Why?" she simply asks.

He blushes even further as he mindlessly grabs his left elbow, "I well…I've had a crush on your sister since I met her last year. Plus uh…I've seen pictures of her from three years ago."

"Huh?" now she was confused, "How does that work? I thought all pictures of her were either destroyed or hidden from everyone."

"Well…I have a friend who used to go to this school, and showed me a picture of this girl he liked. And it was your sister. He well…he told me she's the most popular girl in school. But when I asked around, everyone considered the name taboo and told me to never speak to her. I did once, but she ignored me, but well…I've always liked her actually."

"Well…" she pauses as she thinks of a plan, "We are in the same biology class…I could have you come over today, or at least later today, and then leave the house for my usual martial arts class…therefore leaving you two together. Plus then you get a chance to get to know her. If not, I could always attempt to bring out the popular Rei back for a while."

His eyes brightened at the idea despite his blushing image, "Could you? I've always wanted to know Rei, but ever since I've met her…she's always been bullied and she seems to be unable to do anything."

Reika let's out a heavy sigh, "Well here, the law of the jungle is that you either take it, or turn in your bully and get the entire school on you. Asuka is one of the few people there is too popular to shut down. She would be a martyr in an instant."

"What time do you want me to show?" he asks, quietly again.

"How does 4:00 sound?" he nods in agreement, "Great, I'll see you then." She gives him a wink before walking back to her friends.

"So, what did he ask?" one of her friends asked.

'Should I tell them…no that would only cause problems,' she thinks to herself before responding aloud, "Eh nothing really, just something about our biology class."

"That's all? Girl and here I thought he would be coming out of his shell for once and ask someone out," another friend says. Reika simply shrugs this off.

Later that afternoon the doorbell rang, "Rei, can you get the door? I have practice soon!"

"Very well," she replies. She gets up from the couch were she was reading a book and opens the door, gasping at the sight before him.

"Good afternoon, Ayanami-san," Shinji quietly greets.

"Ikari-san," she replies in her neutral voice, while in her mind, 'What is he doing here? He must be here to see Reika. Does he not know that she has martial arts on Wednesdays as well?' She turns and faces the stairs when she hears her sister coming down the stairs.

"Oh Shinji-san, I forgot to tell you that I have martial arts class. Tell you what, you stay here, keep my sis company since no one else is home, and when I get back, we can start our biology project, okay?"

"Sure, Reika-san," Shinji quietly replies, giving her a polite nod as she runs out the door.

"Biology project, Ikari-san?" Rei asks, maintaining her neutral voice and face as she closes the door.

"Yeah, but since your sis has practice, I guess I'm stuck here for a while," he puts his bag down and takes off his shoes, "May I sit down?"

"Do as you like," she replies, as she picks up her book and continues to read.

He sits down on the arm chair, "What you reading?"

"It is a novel that I acquired from the library."

"Is it any good?"

"It is agreeable."

"Do you always talk like that?"

"Like what?" her eyes never leaving the book.

"Well…" he scratches the back of his head to find the words, "You always speak in an objective tone. At least from what I can tell since I started schooling here."

"I speak in an objective manner because I find drawn out sentences to be superfluous."

"And your vocabulary, you really need to tone it down Ayanami-san."

"There would be no point."

"No point?"

"Hai, because as you know, I am 'classed' as a nerd. Therefore I may as well fit the role."

"You saying you weren't a nerd at one point?" he asks hopefully. However she remains silent at the question.

"So uh…what kind of hobbies do you have?" he asks, hopefully to make conversation.

"I read books, and play the violin."

"Anything else?"

"I spend the rest of my time either cleaning the house or my homework. Is there any point to this? Or are you trying to make conversation?"

"I…well…uh…yes."

"Then please stop."

"Huh?"

"As I told you before, I find drawn out sentences to be superfluous. I also find the same thing in conversations. I prefer them to the point or no conversation at all."

"I see," he replies dejectedly, 'Oh boy, this is going to be hard. I guess I could have Reika pull a rabbit out of her hat or something…' The rest of the afternoon went by slowly in the awkward silence. However Shinji was glad that he brought his S-DAT player that it helped him through the silence. 5:30 rolls around eventually, as Reika walks in to find Shinji still on the armchair listening to his music while Rei is in the kitchen as she prepares dinner.

She taps Shinji on the shoulder, "Let's head into my room so we can start our project."

"Hai, Reika-san," he replies, as he grabs his bag and follows her up.

Once inside, Reika closes the door and sits on her bed while Shinji sits on the floor, "So, how did it go?"

"Not so good," he sadly replies.

"She didn't want to make conversation didn't she?" Shinji simply shook his head, "Not surprised. She was a bit more relaxed before, but even then, she didn't like idle conversation then, she doesn't like it now. But now this just complicates things…she can't be seen talking to you now…have you seen her wardrobe?"

Shinji nods his head, "Yeah, she mostly wears simple things, nothing special. Not even jeans I believe."

"Nope. Usually her uniform, or dress shirt and simple pants."

"Isn't there anyways I can possible, get her to open up?"

Reika suddenly flashes a big smile, "I tell you what, talk to her tomorrow. I swear, you will have a better chance tomorrow, I promise you everything will work out fine."

"Are you sure, Reika-san?" he asks, having second thoughts.

"Trust me, everything will be fine. Oh and there's one thing I want to show you," she quickly goes to her desk and pulls something out of the draws, "Here's a picture of Rei from a few years back. Take it; you just might need it later. However, DO NOT open it, until I tell you to. Understand?" Shinji nods his head, and places the envelope inside his bag, "Now anyways, my mom and older sis will be back soon, so you better leave."

Shinji gets up, "Thank you Reika-san."

"No problem. My sis needs a friend, especially these days." She opens the door and lets him out before following him.

Later that night, Reika and Rei were getting ready for bed when Reika decided to put her plan into actions, "Say sis, why did you give up your status back then?"

"You know the answer to that," Rei replies coldly, as she looks up from her book.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry I asked, however, I have," she pauses to find the right word, "A proposal."

"Go on," Rei replies, closing the book.

"You return to your old self, the person you were two years back, for a whole week, and I promise I will get Asuka off your back for two years, if not, one year. How does that sound?"

"How does this benefit me, or you?"

"Well in my case, I get to see my sister in a manner of speaking, in a cheerful mood again. And in your case, if Asuka backs off, other, lesser popular kids will back off as well, as they will follow her lead. Plus tomorrow is a good day as any because we get to wear regular clothing for the day. So what to you say?" She sits on the edge of her bed as she sticks out her hand.

Rei looks at her sister's hand as she ponders, 'Why does my sister wish to see me in my previous state now, and for a week? Why? There has to be an ulterior motive to this. But I cannot see it; however, I do see that the results at the moment outweigh the downfalls. I shall accept this, for now.'

"Under one condition."

"What's that?"

"The moment someone harasses me after Friday, I shall return to my current state. Agreed?"

"Deal," Rei cracks a smile as she takes her sister's hand, "Glad that your smile is back," flashing a big smile of her own.

Rei however smirks in response, "Do not expect this to last any longer than a week."

"Go to sleep girls," Naoko calls out from the hall as she walks into her room. Both girls let out heavy sighs as they slip into bed, and let sleep claim them.

That morning, Rei woke up early, feeling extremely giddy inside of her. A feeling she has not felt for a while, and rather enjoyed. She looks at the digital clock to see it read 6:00. She realised that she woke up half hour earlier than she normally did. She smiles slightly as she gets out of bed and goes into her walk in closet, and looks around.

'I must have put them all away.' She then bends down as she pulls out a box and opens it, revealing a series of clothes she had not worn for a while. She rummages through it until she pulls out her favourite white tank top which read, ANGEL in bold blue letters across the chest. She continues to go through her box, pulling out a second one where she finds a pair blues of flares, with angels around the waist area and at the hems. She takes her cloths and goes into the washroom.

She strips herself of her blue pyjamas and undergarments, and steps into the shower. As she starts it up, she sets it for warm water for once and lets the water run down her body. She sighs in content as she lets her body enjoy the warmth against her body. A feeling she missed but dared not re-experience…until now. She then looks at the shelf to her right, and picks up her old lavender scented body wash. She opens it and sniffs it, remembering the alluring scent it gave off. She squeezes some out as she begins to wash her body, regaling in the feeling she has longed to experience in a long time. Reika in the meantime had woken up to the faint scent of lavender, and smiled as she knew her old sister was back, even if it was for a short time.

About fifteen minutes later, Rei comes out, looking beautiful. Her boyish hair was actually styled for once. She had put in a bit of gel, and used a hair pin as she tucked a bit of her hair behind her left ear. She had put on a pair of studded earrings and she also applied a bit of lip gloss as well as a hint of sky blue eye shadow. She goes into her closet one more time and goes to her sister's side where she takes out her old blue jean jacket which read, Ayanami in white letters on the back, and then goes back to her side, pulling out a pair of white socks as well as a pair of white Adidas runners. She then quickly packs her bag and leaves the room as her sister lazily gets up and heads into the washroom.

Naoko had just started to pull out needed ingredients for breakfast when she hears someone coming down the stairs. She leans to her right to see Rei coming down the stairs, in clothes that made tears form in her eyes.

"Rei dear, you look good today."

"Thank you, okaa-san," Rei replies, in her neutral tone however her eyes glinted in happiness.

"Why the sudden change?" she asks, as she starts to pull out the needed pots and pans, while Rei helps set up the table.

"I was challenged by Reika to see if I can be myself for a week, and in exchange, she will ensure I am left alone."

Naoko frowns at the thought, "I suppose that is somewhat nice of your sister, but what happens at the end of the week?"

Rei ponders for a while before finally answering, "I do not know. Perhaps I shall remain like this, but more likely than not, I will return to my established state."

Naoko's face saddens, "I see." 'Hopefully being surrounded by people who eventually will respect you again will help you out of your depression Rei.'

"Rei, you look good," a voice suddenly calls out.

"Arigatou, Onee-chan," Rei replied.

"Good morning Ritsuko," Naoko greets as she starts frying the vegetables she prepared the pervious night.

Rei sets down the last of the forks and suddenly runs to the stairs and calls up, "Onee-san, can you bring down my skateboard and player?"

"Sure thing, imoutou-chan" she calls back.

"I haven't heard Rei call out to anyone like that in a long time," she comments as she helps her mother cook.

"Far too long if you ask me. It's a shame that your father died. He would've been happy to see Rei like this."

"Yes he would."

That morning the Ayanami residence was in a rather joyous mood. After the girls finished eating their meals, they both thanked their mother and headed off, Reika on her bike and Rei on her skateboard with her mp3 player around her neck and in her ears, her back on her back instead of in her hands. Rei had a bit of difficultly but was able to maintain her momentum, despite that she only did the minimal requirements in her P.E. classes.

Upon reaching the school, people approached Reika, only to be shocked as they saw the twins enter the school grounds together, both of them dressed up normally. Boys started to eye her, especially since her bust was really showing now considering the shirt she wore. Rei bent down and readjusted her socks, before dusting off her white Adidas shoes. Reika on the other hand wore a red halter top, black flares, black Nike shoes and black jean jacket, because Rei had taken back her jean jacket from Reika.

"Wow…both Ayanami in popular clothes?" people begin to ask while boys start to hoot in amazement at the beauty both girls exuded.

Rei however in her mind was thinking, 'This popularity, it does not fit. I have not earned it.'

Shinji who was sitting in his tree, sporting a pair of jeans, and a white blue shirt noticed the commotion and looked at the gates. Seeing two familiar mops of blue hair, Shinji jumps down from the tree and walks up to the crowd. He hooks up with Toji and Kensuke who were also curious about the commotion. People noticed Shinji and made way for him. He was soon at the front and gasped at the sight before him.

'Rei looks stunning,' he thinks to himself, feeling himself blush as he marvelled at the sight before him. He really liked how Rei pinned her hair looked well on her as well as the earrings. Rei noticed his gaze and looked away, feeling herself blush. She makes her way inside, the crowd making way, giving her a clear path.

Shinji then approaches Reika and quietly whispers to her, "She's more beautiful than I can imagine."

Reika smiles as she heads for the bike rack, Shinji next to her, "I know. If she opens up to you, you'll like what you see inside. However you better keep an eye on Rei. Asuka always hated Rei for her popularity a few years back. If I know her, it's going to get ugly." Shinji nods as he walks away, heading inside. He sees Rei about to enter the building, and picks up his pace.

Rei heads straight for her locker and opens it and starts putting her unneeded books inside. She closes the door to find Asuka, her waist length red hair in a high ponytail, sporting a blue tank top, and a pair of blue tennis shorts, fuming at her.

"Why the hell, are you back bitch? I thought I told you to never show your face again!"

Rei turns her head and faces her, a grin on her face, "I never intended to come back, but some things have come up, and my presence was required."

Asuka however smirked back, "Yeah, but now, you have to re-earn your popularity."

"In a manner of speaking yes. I have already regained my, 'popularity' but now I just required the trust I had from the people." 'I may not like it, but I may as well play the part.'

"Good luck with that. I swear I will make your life a living hell from now on, Wonder Girl. Just you wait," she turns to go but then stops, "Oh and one more thing. This is for coming back at all!" she wheels around to punch, but Rei suddenly drops her bag and board, deflecting the attack with her right hand, while her left grabbed her forearm, pulling her as he right hand grabs her right shoulder. Rei then forces Asuka's forearm upwards against her back as she strains the arm.

Rei smirks, "I was planning to stay only for a week, but I may stay until next Friday." She let's Asuka go, shoving her forward a bit. She bends down and picks up her board and bag and walks past her as she heads to class.

Shinji who had been watching from a distance, gapped in awe, "Is that the real Rei? She never seemed like the type to defend herself."

**So what do you guys think, is it any good? Please leave your reviews, as I would greatly appreciate them. I was thinking of doing this as a story whenever I can't think of any ideas for my other stories, but if you want me to make this another one of my mainstream stories, I'll be glad to oblige. Well anyways, that's all from me.**

**Cheers Ja ne**


	2. The Return of Rei Ayanami

**The Real You**

**Chapter II The Return of Rei Ayanami**

**Wow…I didn't expect this many reviews in one day. It feels like Wings of an Angle all over again. I'll update it ASAP, as soon as I can get some ideas. It's a pain in the ass after if you suffer writers block for certain stories. Well anyways, one with the responses.**

**Midnight6: I actually never heard of that anime. What is it about?**

**Bigdave: If you mean why she was nerdy, you'll find out soon enough. If not this chapter, then most likely in the next.**

As Rei walks down the hell, she smirks at the face Asuka wore when she put her in that lock. She continues to walk, and notices people gawking at her. She highly disliked the gawking, as she was used to people responding differently. But she knew she would not likely return to that status, and therefore maintained her composure. However someone tapped her from behind, thus drawing her attention, to a brown haired freckled faced girl.

"Horaki-san," Rei greets politely.

"It's been a long time Rei-san," she quietly replies.

"Has it? As I recall, it was two years since we have last talked," she replied, annoyance, creeping up along her face.

"We haven't talked since then. So how have you been?"

"I have been better, especially after what happened."

"You still haven't forgiven me?"

"No."

"What about Reika?"

"I have not completely forgiven her."

"Really? Why?"

"I cannot forgive her for something she did behind my back."

"But Rei, she was not herself that day, she was-"

"Agreed, she was not herself. But then she did it on a conscious level, which elevated to what it became back then. It is as simple as that."

"But Rei, she's your sister."

"That may be, but the fact is, she betrayed my trust and my feelings, and I cannot forgive something like that easily. She has been trying, but not hard enough, therefore, she is not entitled for my complete forgiveness."

"But-"

"This conversation has lost its meaning," she turns to go, "You should already know I do not like idle conversations. See you in class, Horaki-san." She then walks away, leaving the girl a disappointed.

Shinji who had been watching approaches the brunette and places his hand on her shoulder, "Hikari, you…okay?"

She looks back at him and nods, "Thank you for your concern Ikari-san," she looks towards Rei's back, "We were friends a few years back. But then something happened, and that all changed. She hasn't really been the same since then."

"Umm…mind telling me what happened?" he asks in a quiet voice.

Hikari however shook her head, "The twins made every party promise not to tell anyone without their permission. You'd have to ask one of them."

"Thank you, Hikari-san. I'll see you in Chemistry." He waves her goodbye and then walks along the same path as Rei, as they had the same Math class. He walks in to see no one present, and only Rei in her usual spot, staring out the window.

He walks in and is about to sit down she suddenly he hears someone calls out from behind him, "Rei-san? Is that you?" Shinji wheels around to see Kaoru Nagisa, approach Rei.

Rei turns her gaze as she looks at the tan haired boy, "Hai, Kaoru-san."

He stops in front of her and eyes her for a moment, "Wow, you look like…well…you, dear cousin."

"You can thank my sister Reika for that. She struck a deal with me."

"Yeah I heard. She said that in exchange for you returning to your old self, she'd get Asuka off you right?"

She nods, "Hai. However Asuka leaving me alone is no longer viable."

Kaoru raises an eyebrow, "What happened?"

"She talked to me, and was about to hit me, I retaliated. Suffice it to say, she will now be after me more than ever. And because you know I used to be a martial artist, I have to defend myself again."

"Well, the Martial Arts team does miss its Captain," Kaoru calmly replies.

"Rei was a martial artist?" Shinji says aloud surprising both Kaoru and Rei.

"How long have you been listening, Ikari-san?" Rei asks in a calm manner.

"The whole thing actually…" he meekly replies, as he starts to blush.

"Please keep this information to yourself."

She turns her attention back to Kaoru, "We will talk more this afternoon, if you wish to."

Kaoru looks at Shinji for a moment before facing Rei again, "I would, but I'm busy. I have to help Okaa-san with some things so I can't hang with you after school," he turns to go "But I'm sure there are others who would be more than glad to hang with you, especially now," giving Shinji a wink before walking out. Shinji lets out a sigh as he walks up to the empty seat next to Rei and sits down.

Rei notices this and look at him, raising an eyebrow, "Why are you here, Ikari-san? Do you not usually sit with your friends Suzuhara-san and Aida-san in the other corner?"

"Well the thing is…well…I uh…" Shinji begins, finding it difficult to talk to Rei, or any girl for that matter.

"Go on," she urges, as she patiently waits for Shinji to speak.

"The thing is…I asked Reika to make you come like this." Rei frowns at him.

"Why?" Her neutral tone nonexistent as it is replaced by an icy anger.

Shinji cringed at her sudden mood change as he leaned onto the desk, using his forearms to hide his face, "I uh…I just wanted to get to know the real you," he quietly replies.

"To…know me? As in…just talk to me like a normal person, instead of just wishing to be around my presence for the sake of being around me?" Shinji barely nods as he was still afraid at her icy attitude.

Her anger quickly dissipates as it is replaced by a soft smile, "Thank you," she quietly whispers.

"Huh?" Shinji asks in surprise, sitting up straight again.

"Thank you, for just wanting to know me," she repeats in the same quietly tone.

"Uh…your welcome? Care to full me in?"

"Most people, when I was popular, although most knew me at some level, not many wanted to know me personally. My only friends were members of the Martial Arts team. I was the Captain, and was a brown belt. Two years ago, I stopped training, and so I am not surprised some of my skills have diminished. However today I was glad, as I would have broken her arm had she did that and I continued training. To the point, besides a few people outside of the Martial Arts team, people were only interested in having me as an affiliate to turn to in terms of credentials I did not mind, as I did have friends who cared for me as a person. Not as a social being. My cousin was one, you have recently met him. My sister supported me, but only because I helped her out, Hikari was one of those who took the time to know me, but was not on the team. There are others, but they have graduated."

"Hey, I don't know about you, but I was never interested in this popularity."

"I had already come to that conclusion when I first saw you."

"Yeah, I guess. But personally, just because I have good grades, and nice body build, doesn't mean that I'm instantly ranked as a popular person. I'm not even rich. For crying out loud what kind of a person who has enough to get through the day, can be considered popular? And considering how my godmother spends whatever money after buying food and necessities on beer, I'm surprised I can be considered a rich boy."

Rei couldn't help but giggle, "You do have that aura of richness, Ikari-kun."

'At least she's starting to respect me,' he though to himself, "How? I simply have a simple haircut and I wear plain clothes, I mean how does that work out?"

"You wear them in a fashion popular people would. Plus, girls are drawn to quiet boys, especially at this school. You only talk to Suzuhara-san and Aida-san, or you are in your tree, listening to your music cutting yourself off from the world."

"I suppose, but it's better than all that shit I have to deal with," he groans, suddenly noticing a bunch of girls entering the classroom. As soon as they entered they were scandalized to see Rei and Shinji talking. Like clockwork they instantly surrounded him as they bombarded him with mindless words. As Shinji tries to push the girls away, he looks to Rei pleadingly who only smiles back. Seeing his desperation, she mouths, 'Lunch, Your Tree,' before turning her attention to the outside world again.

Shinji sees Toji and Kensuke enter and call out to them for help. The boys nodded and quickly dispersed the small group of girls, and then escort him back to their corner. The boys continued to yap on about things, but Shinji's attention was stuck on the girl across the room who had tugged on his heart for over a year now.

Rei let out a sigh as she was about to put the ear buds of her mp3 player back on when the sensei walks in, and hearing the familiar voice of Hikari calling out, "Rise, bow, sit." Math class went by rather quickly and more enjoyable as Asuka for one was no where in sight, as well as the fact that everyone was giving Rei a bit of respect. Her second class was a spare, and she remembered how she told Asuka she would remain in her 'popular' state for a while, so she decided to do some changes to herself.

As she walks down the hall, she thinks to herself, 'I did promise Soryu that I would remain. I may as well rejoin the Martial Arts team, as well as retake snowboarding when the season starts. I have missed both sports. It will be nice to be able to become Captain of the team again as well as, 'shred' a few slopes. She walks into the P.E. office where she sees a woman, with long crimson hair halfway down her thighs with blue eyes, wearing a tracksuit, sitting in a desk doing some paperwork.

"Excuse me sensei," she calls out to the woman, who looks up.

"Yes student, how can I help you?"

"Do you know the location of Mihaku-sensei?"

"I'm sorry, but he retired last year. I'm Mizuki-sensei, and the current coach for the Martial Arts team. Do you wish to join?"

Rei shook her head, "I am interested in rejoining the club."

"Oh really? You were a member? What's your name?"

"Ayanami Rei."

She turns to her computer and types in the name, and waits a moment, "Oh, so you were the Rei Ayanami your sensei spoke highly of," she turns to see Rei blushing slightly, "Hmm…Let's see, Team Captain, Brown Belt, on the verge of Black Belt, team trainer, legendary for your usage of Round Houses and Tornado Kicks, my, my, what an impressive record," she turns back to Rei with a serious expression on her face, "You know that you will have to be tested for your belt correct?" Rei nods, "Very well, practice this Friday, after school, if you have your old uniform, show up in that, with your old belt, and be prepared to fight me. Before, that honour went to you, because the sensei was old. But now there are some changes, and be assured, you will most likely not be team captain."

Rei opens her mouth to speak but Mizuki-sensei put up her hand, "I know what you are thinking, and no, I am not being malicious, or whatever. Normally I'd let you at least be the 2nd Captain. However, this is a completely new team to you more or less. The juniors during your time are now seniors and the leaders, and they did not know you as well as last years seniors did. They actually hoped you would come back, but sadly their hopes were answered one year too late. So, unless you can impress me, AND the current Captain and 2nd Captain, you will most likely only be a senior, depending on how good you are. Understand?"

"Hai," she firmly responds.

She smiles, "Good. I hope that you will impress me."

She then bows to the sensei, "Thank you for your time, and for giving me the opportunity to rejoin the team, Mizuki-sensei." She then backs out of the office and leaves.

'That is one team rejoined, and two more to go. Hopefully Terada-sensei is not teaching so that I can request to rejoin the Track team. I need to re-strengthen my legs if I am going to be in the martial arts team. Even if I return to my, knowledgeable stated, I may as well maintain my physical strength as I assume Soryu will wish to attack me.' She walks into the weight room where she knew Terada-sensei spends usually second class in, but finds it empty. 'He is not here. I shall ask him after school then.' She then looks at her watch to see it read 9:55. 'It is almost time for 3rd period. I must be going.' She leaves the weight training room and heads off towards her locker to get her things.

Eventually lunch began at 12:30. Rei had just closed her locker, her bento in one hand, her skateboard in the other. She turns to go only to see Asuka in front of her, this time with four boys with her.

"So, think you can just put me in a lock and not expect me to get back at you, Wonder Girl?" Asuka asks, smugly.

"Are you so afraid that you cannot beat me in one on one combat, Soryu," Rei asks calmly, "Or are you afraid that your, 'University' training has diminished?"

"What?" Asuka snarls out.

"Or it is possible that Germany has inadequate instructors, and you are too afraid to face me, so therefore, you ask your friends to do it for you."

"Why you, get that bitch!" pointing her finger towards her. Rei goes down on her knees, placing her board and bento down, and springs forward, and sweeps the person in front of her with her right leg. She spins around on her hands as she kicks the another person in the chin with her left foot before elbowing another in the chest, then smashing his face with the back of her hand. She moves one as she starts to throw a series of punches, elbows and knees to her four attackers eventually knocking them out cold.

There was already a large crowd, some of them whispering, "Rei's a fighter?" "I didn't know she could fight." "Wow…she's good."

Rei caught the comments and smirked, "Thank you for the comments, and yes, I know Karate." She approaches Asuka who takes up a stance, but stops. She bends down, picking up her bento and skateboard, and walks up next to her.

She then starts speaking in a low tone only Asuka could hear, "I am well aware you are a skilled fighter. However unlike you, I only fight to defend myself. And your lack of emotional control will be your downfall. I promise you, even if I leave and return as my other self, I may retaliate if you push me." She then walks away, leaving a very pissed off Asuka behind her.

Shinji, who had been watching the whole time, carefully approaches Rei as she leaves the building, "I saw what you did to Asuka."

"I did what was required," she calmly replied.

"Were you a fighter back then as well?"

"Yes. However I only fought in Martial Arts tournaments," 'And when Reika was in trouble,' she added mentally.

"Well personally, I kinda like it that you can defend yourself."

"Clarify."

"Did you always talk objectively, even back then?"

"Hai," Shinji bursts out laughing, "What is so funny, Ikari-kun?"

"Please call me Shinji, Rei-san, and boy I haven't laughed like that in a while. And as for why I laughed, I just find it funny how a popular person can talk like a well…a nerd."

Rei however frowned, "My sister and I talked in the same manner. However, two years ago, she changed her manner of speaking, and has since then been more open with her emotions."

"There you go; in fact a lot of people are babbling on about something from two years ago. What exactly happened two years ago?"

"I rather not say yet, Shinji-san."

'First name basis, but back to polite addressing. I guess this is going to take a bit longer than I had hoped,' he thought to himself.

"You were about to clarify why you like the concept of how I am able to defend myself, were you not?"

"Oh right…" he blurts out, "Well I…uh…I'm kinda attracted to girls who can defend themselves."

"That still does not explain why you are attracted to people like me," Rei replies as she sits herself down, leaning against Shinji's tree.

Shinji on the other hand starts climbing, "Well, for one thing, they have much more beautiful bodies in my opinion, that plus should you be attacked, you can at least defend yourself long enough for help to arrive."

"That is an adequate answer," Rei states as she opens up her bento box and starts eating.

"Care to join me?"

"Pardon me?"

"Up here in the tree. Join me."

"Are you sure, Shinji-san?"

"It's fine Rei-san, c'mon."

"Very well." She closes her bento box and passes it up to Shinji before she jumps up and starts climbing the tree. She quickly sits herself on a branch next to Shinji. She takes back her bento box and starts eating it again. 'I have always imagined being up here with Shinji-san, but I never expected to actually act out my imagination,' she thinks to herself.

'Rei-san looks so much more beautiful when she's wearing normal clothes. I prefer her in regular clothes over her, plain clothes.' "Damn she looks stunning," he whispers aloud.

However Rei was just able to hear it and gasp at the comment and looks at Shinji to see him looking at her, in a longing fashion. 'Does this boy have feelings for me? Or he is lusting for my body?'

"Why do you look at me that way, Shinji-san?" However Shinji did not respond. She leans over and gently shakes his shoulder, causing him to jump out of his reverie, and nearly falling off the branch.

"Uh…what happened?" he asks sheepishly after he rebalances himself.

"I asked; why do you look at me that way?"

"Oh well I uh…" he starts to blush, "Well that is to say that…"

Rei raises an eyebrow.

"Well I uh…the thing is that I uh…" 'I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away. Damn this is hard. Ah fuck this, I can't say it now.'

He suddenly jumps down, "I'm sorry Rei-san. I shouldn't have looked at you that way," he quickly replies as he quickly runs off back into the school building.

Rei looks at his retreating form, feeling a bit hurt, but mildly curious, "Shinji-san, so do you have feelings for me? If so, why do you run away from them?"

"Hey, why are you in Shinji's tree," a boy suddenly yells out from below. She looks down to see Toji, in his black tracksuit glaring up at her.

"He invited me up here," she calmly replies as she closes her bento box.

"Bullshit," he cries out, "He doesn't even let me or Kensuke up there, what makes you so sure that you would let you up there?"

"This conversation is going nowhere," she flatly replies as she jumps down, picking up her skateboard, "I shall be leaving. Good day." She walks away, leaving a very confused Toji behind her.

Meanwhile, Reika was having a walk around the school when she sees Shinji up on the roof, "I wonder what he's doing up there. Shouldn't he be trying to know my sis?" She decides to check things out and heads up to the roof. When she arrived, she sees him in a corner, curled up into a ball. Now that had highly confused her.

As she approaches him, she hears him muttering, "I'm a coward. And idiot, why did I run from her? She probably hates me now. Why do I have to be so weak? I hate my life; I hate what my father did to me, god damn it all; Rei probably really hates me now."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Reika suddenly cries out, making Shinji scream in fright, "Damn, are you that jumpy, Shinji-san?"

"You could say that, Reika-san," he weakly replies, looking down.

"What happened?" she asks as she lowers herself to her level.

"I-err-uh…I was looking and your sister and…" he trails off.

"Lemmie guess, she wanted to know why you were looking at her," he weakly nods, "Didn't you tell her that you like her?"

"I wanted to but…I just, froze. So I kinda, ran away."

Reika groans, "Be glad she has a powerful curiosity."

"Huh?" he suddenly asks, looking at Reika.

"She's like a scientists, she wants to know why things happen," she replies in a matter-of-fact like tone, "Or in this case, why you ran. She probably has guessed that you have feelings for her, or you are lusting for her body, so she will probably try to ascertain which one is true. You've gotta capitalise on this and give her hints, or go straight out and say it. If she's calling you Shinji-san, that's hard I will say this right now. It usually takes a month for her to trust people, and if she trusts you in that manner already, you've got a shot at becoming a really good friend of hers, maybe even become her boyfriend later."

"You think so?" he asks hopefully.

"Hey, I am her twin after all. We so share a twin bond," she replies proudly, "Anyways, why don't you check out the Martial Arts team on Friday? My sister is rejoining the team. I don't know if she's still got the passion, but if she does, you'll like what you see," winking at him.

"But, what does that have to do with getting to know her?"

"Simple. Martial Art was one of her pastimes, along with reading books, and playing the violin, which I'm assuming she told you," Shinji merely nods, "Well now, if you see her fight, you might get to see what she's like when she does something she loves. At least I hope she's still into it, after she quit the team two years ago."

'Again with the two years ago. What happened two years ago?' he thinks to himself.

Reika looks at her watch, "It's almost time for class. I'll see you in final class." She gets up and waves to Shinji before she heads back down. Shinji sits there for a few minutes as he wonders whether he should show up and watch Rei in action as Reika has suggested. Looking up at the clock tower, he quickly gets up and also heads downstairs.

Later that afternoon, Rei and Reika get home together. Both girls go inside; however Reika simply flops onto the couch and turns on the TV while Rei headed upstairs and straight into the walk in closet, where she goes through the racks of clothes until she finds her old karate suit. Seeing that her suit still fits, she heads out into the back, through the kitchen, and onto a patch of grass.

She closes her eyes for a moment, breathing in the smell of the garden in front of her before she starts up with her warm-ups. Little that afternoon, Ritsuko returns from work. She gets out of her car to hear familiar karate battle cries of her sister. She quietly sneaks her way into the back, and peaks, to see Rei practicing her karate.

'She hasn't done that for two years. I wonder, has she rejoined the Martial Arts team? If so, that's a good thing. I just hope that this will help you out of your slump.' Ritsuko could only smile widely seeing her little sister returning to her true self. She heads back out to the front and enters the house, to see Reika on the couch doing her homework.

Later that evening, Rei quickly finished her homework and ate dinner, and went straight to bed, exhausted from her training. However for the longest time, she had never felt so refreshed from training.

'I rather enjoyed that session,' she thinks to herself as she lies in bed, 'And the fact is, I am gaining some friends again. Perhaps, just perhaps, Rei Ayanami's return shall be a permanent one.'

**So what did you guys think? Okay, pretty good, excellent, please, your reviews are welcomed. Flame if you must, but will be disregarded. Anyways, that's all from me.**

**Cheers Ja ne**


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